at the midday briefing mr. obama insisted the campaign was not on his mind. >> i'm worried about the impact on families, and i'm worried about the impact on our first responders. i'm worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation. you know, the election will take care of itself next week. >> reporter: meanwhile, for much of monday mitt romney tried to walk a fine line, balancing campaigning in ohio and iowa with compassion for storm victims. in ohio he appealed for americans to put politics aside. >> we've faced these kind of challenges before, and as we have, as soon as americans come together, and this looks like another time when we need to come together, all across the country, even here in ohio. >> reporter: still, romney did not entirely abandon politics. >> the people of the entire nation are counting on ohio because my guess is -- my guess is that if ohio votes me in as president, i'll be the next president of the united states. >> reporter: both candidates have cancelled all of their own